For redshirt senior Stephen Furst, cross country has been a dynamic part of his family’s heritage. The All-Regional, All-ACC runner knew from the age of 5 that his father’s strong ties with cross-country would have an influence on his life.
“My dad got into long-distance running when he was young,” Furst said. “He found that he was good at it, and that he had the discipline necessary to train and get better.”
Stephen’s father, Richard Furst, was indeed a high-level runner. In fact, he went on to run for Clemson, where he was an individual at-large qualifier for the NCAA Championship meet, as well as one of the top runners in the conference.
“He ran like a 4:08 mile on our track, and that was maybe 35 years ago,” Furst said. “That’s pretty good.”
Richard Furst’s cross country possibilities, however, were cut short due to a career-ending injury of his Achilles’ tendon in 1969. Nonetheless, he continued to be involved with cross country by coaching teams at the high school level. Coach Furst has since led his teams to at least three state championships in his career in New York.
“I’m so impressed with coach Furst,” coach Rollie Geiger said. “He’s a terrific coach and a terrific man, and the apple doesn’t fall far.”
From a young age, Stephen would attend his dad’s programs, gaining advice and learning from him. He remembers running at the age of 6 or 7 with some of the high school girls, gaining experience and proving his success as a runner. Stephen’s older brother also became involved with running when he entered seventh grade.
“I was kind of always following in his footsteps,” Furst said. “When it came time to decide as far as sports go, of course, there was never any doubt that I was going to be running – it was always what I wanted to do and what I felt like I’d be best at.”
Furst has found success, consistently finishing in the top five out of the Wolfpack runners this year. He also achieved a seventh place finish last year at the ACC Championships, earning a spot on the all-conference team.
“He’s improved a great deal,” Geiger said. “He came here as non-scholarship athlete and has earned his way into a scholarship. I have a great deal of appreciation for an athlete who is willing to come to a program, work really hard and gain an athletic scholarship. He did it the old-fashioned way — he earned it.”
Furst has also demonstrated success in the classroom, majoring in aerospace engineering.
“I’ve gotten into a really regimented routine here,” Furst said. “And it has created a lot of success both in academics and athletics. I’m in grad school now and academics have been so challenging, but just so fun and exciting and applicable. I think I’ve come a long way. I’ve learned a whole lot from N.C. State academically.”
When asked why he chose aerospace engineering, Furst attributed the choice to his love of math and science.
“I guess aircraft are kind of interesting to me,” Furst said. “For a while I wanted to be a pilot, but you can apply engineering to just so many different fields. In addition to aircraft, I’ve always been interested in things like weather and astronomy.”
Geiger said he will always remember Furst’s strong work ethic, both inside and outside of the classroom.
“I’ll never forget Stephen, his commitment to both his academics and his athletics,” Geiger said. “He’s a terrific student, he’s a terrific athlete, and he’s a terrific young man, and he’s been a pleasure to have in the program.”
